I'm currently in the second half of my student teaching year as part of my master's program. My master's program started us off with a three week, daily, three hours a day class on classroom management last summer. It was a good course, but there has been no follow-up. I feel as though the class itself was good but the program has since abandoned the idea. Follow-up would have been nice.

If you can believe it, my credential program had ZERO information on classroom management. And I was hired on an emergency credential, so all of my "student teaching" was done on the fly in my own classroom. Luckily, classroom management has always been a key interest of mine, and I did a LOT of reading and trying out new things to find what worked and what didn't. I'll be curious to hear what other teachers have to say who have more recently completed their credential program; I was under the impression that things had improved, but it probably still varies from program to program.

My master's program briefly discussed it, but there was no classroom time given to it and much less a class devoted to it. The information that we did receive were book suggestions and perhaps photocopies of ideas. When I did my student-teaching, I got more suggestions from my cooperating teacher and sometimes his methods were childish... and the kids knew it. I can honestly say that as an upcoming not-yet teacher, I am unprepared for the classroom. I hope this group will provide me with better insight.

Thank you to all those who commented. It appears the general concensus is virtually no training in classroom management. My best advice is assertive discipline. Make expectations and consequences clear. Follow through or you live in a zoo! I use a three strikes you are out policy. Warning, Detention, Referral that takes you out of my sight. It works, but of course you must have an administration that backs you up. If you stick with it and are consistent, it works. You are the authority in the room; don't try to be their friend. That's the worst mistake I see new teachers make. They need to respect you.